Rail wheel stop

ABSTRACT

A rail stop having a lamina body of thin plate members which are individually shaped with a recess so that collectively the stop fits over a rail head from both sides of the web. The plate members are hingedly connected together by a pin with a loose fit therebetween and under a spring load. A wedge is provided to cooperate with a rail wheel sought to be stopped, and the lamina stop body for rendering it immovable on the rail by causing it to tilt and the individual plate members to shift on their interfaces thereby elevating a plurality of corners defined by the interfaces and the recesses of said plate members, to produce a serrated surface at the gripping portion of the plate members to bear against the rail head. This structure and operation provides a positive grip between the stop body and the rail head.

Dec. 9, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT A rail stop having a lamina body of thin plate mem- RAIL WHEEL STOP [76] Inventor: S. Anton Wladis, 1120 N. Lake Shore Drive, g 60611 bers which are individually shaped with a recess so that collectively the stop fits over a rail head from both sides of the web. The plate members are hingedly connected together by a pin with a loose fit therebe- 9 2 m3 5 o N mm. D. FA 1] 21 22 tween and under a spring load. A wedge is provided to cooperate with'a rail wheel sought to be stopped, and the lamina stop body for rendering it immovable on 5 /56 W 3 0K4 4 115 a .0 57 n 23 m 9 6 43 m 0 "m mm 3 3 s "08 00 mm m 9 .h 5 mm WW8 .2 ma e d0 Std Umm 1]] 218 555 [[l the rail by causing it to tilt and the individual plate members to shift on their interfaces thereby elevating a plurality of comers defined by the interfaces and the recesses of said plate members, to produce a serrated surface at the gripping portion of the plate members References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS to bear against the rail head. This structure and operation provides a positive grip between the stop body and the rail head.

mh." "u" Tmm PM W lc m w .JMR 589 236 999 111 161 1 Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk 4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Assistant ExaminerAndres Kashnikow Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Walter Leuca US. Patent Dec.91975 Sheet 1 of2 3,924,539

mm. s IL Dec. 9 .1975 Shse't 2 of 2 3,924,539

US. Patent RAIL WHEEL STOP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to rail wheel stops and more particularly to a portable rail wheel stop for rail cars and rail cranes.

2. Description of the Prior Art My invention has reference to US. Pat. No. 3,420,190. The rail stop of this patent is activated by a rail wheel striking the wedge member which wedges between the rail head and the stop body. This action tightens the gripping portion of the plate members against the underside of the rail head to render it immovable thereby serving as a stop. The gripping surface of the plate members of the prior art rail stop are the flat edges at the recesses which form a relatively flat surface. The stop is rendered immovable by the clamping action of the flat surface of the recess portion of the plate members against the rail head caused by the edge member lifting the stop body from the rail head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My invention is an improvement over the invention disclosed by this patent in that I provide a rail stop having a novel structure and operation whereby the gripping edges of the plate members of the rail stop body are-converted from the smooth surface of the gripping portion of the plate members when the rail stop body is in normal repose, to a serrated surface when the rail stop is put into operation by the rail wheel to tighten the plate members against the rail head thereby providing a more positive gripping means.

This is accomplished by providing a multiplicity of thin plates having holes for pivotly mounting the plates on a pivot pin with a large clearance therebetween. The plates are held in sliding contact by means of a spring member so that a united tipping and sliding action is allowed to produce the serrated surface which positively grips the rail head upon tightening thereon by the wedge member.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent after a more careful study of the following description of this invention when read with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the wedge member and the improved stop body of my invention in operative relation;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the stop body of my invention longitudinally sectioned, and the rail wheel shown in dotted lines against the wedge member;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the stop body of my invention showing the tapered end of the wedge member cross-sectioned and mounted on the rail head which is shown in dotted lines;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the stop body longitudinally sectioned and shown in the tilt position which elevates an edge of each plate member to collectively provide a serrated gripping surface;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail fragment view of a section taken along line 55 of FIG. 3, showing the serrated gripping surface of the plates when the stop body is tilted;

FIG. 6 is a similar view showing the smooth surface of the plate when the stop body is in normal repose;

FIG. 7 is a face view of the plate members of the stop body shown in expanded relation; and

FIG. 8 is an end view of the stop body showing the movability of the plate members when placed on the rail head which is shown in dotted lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the rail wheel stop of this invention designated generally by the numeral 10, comprises a plurality of plate members 12, each of which are provided with an identical concave recess 14 shaped to conform to and which fits over and around one side of rail head 16 of rail 18. A second set of plural plate members 20 having the same configuration as plate members 12 are provided to conform to and fit over and around the opposite side of rail head 16 of rail 18, when properly assembled as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. As more clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, a hole 22, is provided in each of said plate members 12 and 20 through which, when aligned, collectively form a passageway through which hinge pin 24 is inserted for connecting the plates together. Hinge pin 24 is preferably in the form of a bolt-nut assembly. Plate members 12 and 20 are assembled thereon, alternately reversed in sandwich relation so that plates 12 fit over rail head 16 from one side and plates 20 fit over rail head 16 from the opposite side thereof.

Each of plate members 12 and 20 at the top side of recess 14 is provided with a notch 26 so that collectively, notches 26 form a rectangular passageway 28 longitudinally centered on rail head 16.

Wedge member 30 is provided to cooperate with the assembled plate members 12 and 20 by inserting tapered end 32 thereof through passageway 28 formed by notches 26 after plate members 12 and 20 of stop body 10 are mounted on rail head 16. Wedge member 30 functions as a key to lock the plates onto the rail head and to tighten the gripping or biting action of the concave recesses 14 of plate members 12 and 20 on the underside of rail head 16. I further provide rail head guide members 34 to wedge member 30 to prevent lateral shifting thereof.

Hinge pin 24 is formed with a diameter substantially smaller than the diameter of holes 22 of plate members 12 and 20 to provide a sufficient clearance 40 therebetween so that a substantial amount of tipping of plates 12 and 20 and interface sliding is obtained. Clearance 40 (FIG. 2) between holes 22 and bolt 24 is such to provide a loose or sloppy fit. In combination with this hinge pin fit, I provide a resilient load against assembled plate members 12 and 20 by providing washer 42 and coil spring 44 against which nut 46 is threaded on the end of hinge pin 24, which, as stated above, is in the form of a bolt, to hold the assembled plate members 12 and 20 together during normal repose on rail head 16. Interposed between head 48 of hinge pin 24 and nut 46 is a U-shaped handle bar 50 for manually handling the rail stop 10 of my invention. One leg 52 of handle 50 of positioned between nut 46 and coil spring 44, and the other leg 54 thereof is positioned between head 48 and the last plate member 12.

An additional hole 64 is provided'in each of one set of plate members 12 through which ring 62 is fixed for connection to plate members 12, so that plate members 3 12 may be pivoted in unison when it is desired to release stop body from the rail head. Additionally, chain 60 connects handle 50 and wedge member 30 by any convenient means in order to prevent the separate units of this invention from being lost.

The purposes of the sanwiched or laminate arrangement of multiple plate members 12 and 20 in combination with spring loaded loose fitting hinge pin 24 is to allow an initial tipping and interface sliding motion of plate members 12 and 20 so that a series of V edges or comers 58, as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, are produced around the concave recesses 14 of the plates to bear against the rail head 16 in the form of a serrated surface. Corners 58 are elevated to form the serrated surfaces at the edges of plate members 12 and 20 making contact around the underside of rail head 16 at the area of section line 5-5 of FIG. 3, at the same time that tapered end 32 of wedge member 30 tightens plate members 12 and 20 against rail head 16.

The improved structure above described comprising my invention converts the collective flat edge surfaces 56 of plates 12 and 20 as shown in FIG. 5, to a serrated surface formed by elevated comers 58 of plate members l2 and 20, for positive gripping against rail head 16 when wedge member 30 is activated, thereby insuring the stopping of rail car wheel W.

I claim:

1. A rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail comprising:

a multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over one side of said rail head, and a second multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over the other side of said rail head, said recesses and faces of said plate members defining a corner at the edges thereof, said multiplicity of said plate member and said second multiplicity of plate members being alternately mated for interface contact to obtain a lamina body of said plate members;

each of said plate members having a hole which are collectively aligned to form a centrally disposed hole passageway therethrough;

each of said plate members having an opening which are collectively aligned to form a passageway therethrough;

a pin means through said hole passageway to pivotally connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members;

means through said passageway to connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members;

a spring member between the end of said pin means and the first adjacent plate member for urging said plate members together at their interfaces when said plate members are in repose; and

said pin means and said hole passageway having a clearance therebetween for allowing said plate members to collectively tilt against the bias of said spring and to shift on their interfaces to elevate said corner at said interfaces and recesses of said plate members when a rail wheel is moved against said StO 2. A fail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail, comprising:

a multiplicity of thin plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over one side of said rail head, and a second multiplicity of thin plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over the other side of said rail head, said recesses and 4 faces of said plate members defining a corner at the edges thereof;

said multiplicity of said plate member and said second multiplicity of said plate members being alternately mated for interface contact to obtain a lamina body of said plate member;

means acting on said plate members to tighten said plate members against said rail head to render said stop body immovable thereon;

each of said plate members having a hole which are collectively aligned to form a centrally disposed hole passageway;

a pin means through said hole passageway to pivotably connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members;

a spring member'on said pin means for urging said plate members together at their interfaces to obtain a lamina body of plate members; and

said pin means and said hole passageway having a sufficient clearance therebetween to allow said lamina body of said plate members to tilt on said rail head against the bias of said spring to elevate said comers to bear against said rail head when said means act in said plate member to tighten said plate members against said rail head.

3. A rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail, comprising:

a multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over one side of said rail head, and a second multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over the other side of said rail head, said recesses and faces of said plate members defining a corner at the edges thereof, all of said plate members having a notch alignable to form a common passageway over said rail head when said plate members are fitted on said rail head, said multiplicity of said plate member and said second multiplicity of said plate members being alternately mated for interface contact to obtain a lamina body of said plate member;

a wedge member on said rail head having a tapered end for insertion in said passageway;

each of said plate members having a hole which are collectively aligned to form a centrally disposed hole passageway;

a pin means through said hole passageway to pivotably connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members;

a spring member on said pin means for urging said plate members together at their interfaces to obtain a lamina body of plate members; and

said pin means and said hole passageway having a sufficient clearance therebetween to allow said lamina body of said plate members to tilt on said rail head against the bias of said spring to elevate said corners to bear against said rail head when said tapered end of said wedge member is moved through said passageway.

4. In a rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail wherein a body member is tightened against said head by a wedge member, said body member comprising:

a plurality of thin plate members having one side thereof recessed to conform to the top, side and underside of one side of said rail head;

a second plurality of thin plate members having one side thereof recessed to conform to the top, side and underside of the other side of said rail head;

said pin means having a diameter substantially less than said holes to provide a substantial clearance therebetween;

a spring member between the end of said pin means and said plate members biasing said plate members in a laminate body; and

said plate members of said laminate body being tiltable on said rail head against the bias of said spring placing the comer of said recesses of said plate members against the underside of said rail head. 

1. A rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail comprising: a multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over one side of said rail head, and a second multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over the other side of said rail head, said recesses and faces of said plate members defining a corner at the edges thereof, said multiplicity of said plate member and said second multiplicity of plate members being alternately mated for interface contact to obtain a lamina body of said plate members; each of said plate members having a hole which are collectively aligned to form a centrally disposed hole passageway therethrough; each of said plate members having an opening which are collectively aligned to form a passageway therethrough; a pin means through said hole passageway to pivotally connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members; means through said passageway to connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members; a spring member between the end of said pin means and the first adjacent plate member for urging said plate members together at their interfaces when said plate members are in repose; and said pin means and said hole passageway having a clearance therebetween for allowing said plate members to collectively tilt against the bias of said spring and to shift on their interfaces to elevate said corner at said interfaces and recesses of said plate members when a rail wheel is moved against said stop.
 2. A rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail, comprising: a multiplicity of thin plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over one side of said rail head, and a second multiplicity of thin plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over the other side of said rail head, said recesses and faces of said plate members defining a corner at the edges thereof; said multiplicity of said plate member and said second multiplicity of said plate members being alternately mated for interface contact to obtain a lamina body of said plate member; means acting on said plate members to tighten said plate members against said rail head to render said stop body immovable thereon; each of said plate members having a hole which are collectively aligned to form a centrally disposed hole passageway; a pin means through said hole passageway to pivotably connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members; a spring member on said pin means for urging said plate members together at their interfaces to obtain a lamina body of plate members; and said pin means and said hole passageway having a sufficient clearance therebetween to allow said lamina body of said plate members to tilt on said rail head against the bias of said spring to elevate said corners to bear against said raiL head when said means act in said plate member to tighten said plate members against said rail head.
 3. A rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail, comprising: a multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over one side of said rail head, and a second multiplicity of plate members, each thereof having a recess for fitting over the other side of said rail head, said recesses and faces of said plate members defining a corner at the edges thereof, all of said plate members having a notch alignable to form a common passageway over said rail head when said plate members are fitted on said rail head, said multiplicity of said plate member and said second multiplicity of said plate members being alternately mated for interface contact to obtain a lamina body of said plate member; a wedge member on said rail head having a tapered end for insertion in said passageway; each of said plate members having a hole which are collectively aligned to form a centrally disposed hole passageway; a pin means through said hole passageway to pivotably connect said first and said second multiplicity of plate members; a spring member on said pin means for urging said plate members together at their interfaces to obtain a lamina body of plate members; and said pin means and said hole passageway having a sufficient clearance therebetween to allow said lamina body of said plate members to tilt on said rail head against the bias of said spring to elevate said corners to bear against said rail head when said tapered end of said wedge member is moved through said passageway.
 4. In a rail wheel stop for attachment to the head of a rail wherein a body member is tightened against said head by a wedge member, said body member comprising: a plurality of thin plate members having one side thereof recessed to conform to the top, side and underside of one side of said rail head; a second plurality of thin plate members having one side thereof recessed to conform to the top, side and underside of the other side of said rail head; each of said plate members having a hole spaced from said recess; a hinge pin means in said holes collectively-aligned; plate members of said plurality of plate members and plate members of said second plurality of plate members being combined face to face on said hinge pin in alternate sequence to form a laminate body, and said rail head conforming recesses and said faces of said first and second plurality of plate members defining corners at their edges; said pin means having a diameter substantially less than said holes to provide a substantial clearance therebetween; a spring member between the end of said pin means and said plate members biasing said plate members in a laminate body; and said plate members of said laminate body being tiltable on said rail head against the bias of said spring placing the corner of said recesses of said plate members against the underside of said rail head. 